Barrymore Awards nominations: More diverse, with surprises galore

(Left to right:) Ciera Gardner, Maggie Johnson, and Alick Yorke in Azuka Theatre's production of "The Gap," a leader in the just-announced 2018 Barrymore Award nominations.

Johanna Austin/AustinArt.org

Big moment for the Philadelphia theater world! Monday afternoon, Theatre Philadelphia announced nominations for the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre for the 2017-18 season, the "Philadelphia Tonys." Some 112 shows at 40 companies were eligible, a huge outpouring of creativity in all colors, eras, genders, topics, and moods.

Theaters represented ranged from big guys like the Arden Theatre Company to Theatre Horizon in Norristown to the Resident Theatre Company in West Chester. The nominees for outstanding overall production of a play are the terrific Blood Wedding at the Wilma Theater, Orbiter 3's The Brownings, The Gap at Azuka Theatre, Morning's at Seven at People's Light in Malvern, The Revolutionists at Theatre Horizon, Skeleton Crew at People's Light, and the Quintessence Theatre Group's rendition of Chekhov's The Wild Duck.

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People's Light hoovered up the most noms, with 25. Arden and Wilma were not far behind, with 19 apiece. Among plays, The Gap and Skeleton Crew both had 9, with Blood Wedding close at 8, and three plays at 6 apiece: Morning's at Seven, The Brownings, and ¡Bienvenidos Blancos! or Welcome White People, a delightfully nutty look at Cuban American relations at FringeArts.

Let's talk people. The lifetime achievement award goes, very deservedly, to Paul Meshejian, the founding artistic director of PlayPenn, putting Philly on the map as a home for development of new plays (including the Obie- and Tony-winning Oslo by J.T. Rogers) that have gone on to more than 320 productions around the world. Those nominated for the F. Otto Haas Award for an emerging theater artist included Bedford, Taysha Canales, Jaylene Clark Owens, Anthony Martinez Briggs, and Minora. Besides Bedford, Owens, and Minora, repeating names included Jorge Cousineau, three total (two in media design, one in sound design); Rebecca Wright, with two director noms (The Gap and The Wild Duck); Thom Weaver, with two in lighting design; Larry D. Fowler, two in sound design; and Dan Perelstein, two for original music (the Arden's Snow White and Orbiter 3's A People).

It's tremendously exciting to see all the home-grown talent represented, including playwrights Emma Goidel (The Gap), Weigel, and R. Eric Harris (Mrs. Harrison), who just moved to Baltimore. Lights Out was the product of a commission by People's Light. And in works such as Fishtown Noir, Blood Wedding, and ¡Bienvenidos Blancos!, you see the unpredictable, irrepressible power of ensemble creation.

The awards ceremony will be at 7 p.m., Nov. 5, at the Bok Building, 1901 S. Ninth Street.